


The Meeting

by peacehopeandrats



Series: Once Upon A Time [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2019-05-06 23:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14658891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacehopeandrats/pseuds/peacehopeandrats
Summary: Quick SummaryEveryone knows that Gideon has come to Storybrooke to kill Emma, but as Rumplestiltskin has suspected, his son has a hidden agenda beyond the Savior's death. Once the Black Fairy is dead and Gideon has been granted his childhood again, Emma becomes the key to unlocking the mystery behind Gideon's strange behavior at home.TimingThis takes place before, during, and after the season 6 finale. The first work in this series was written MANY weeks before the episode actually aired and I was anticipating certain things that would come in the future of the show, like where Gideon was living when the Black Fairy wasn't around. This is the fourth story in my Once series and the last that will take place in Storybrooke, at least for now.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory "posting fanfiction makes me uncomfortable" remarks  
> I still don't like magic.  
> I still can't do magic.  
> And I'm rubbish at explaining what I don't know about.  
> But someone has to fill in the gaps, badly done or not.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gideon puts his plans in motion... by kidnapping Emma.

Emma stood at the foot of the stairs and watched as the curtain swayed against the pane of her front door. Her smile grew as she thought about Killian's return tomorrow, not as her fiance, but as her husband and his refusal to spend time with her beforehand. “I guess I should have expected that,” she murmured to herself as she turned for the kitchen. For all that he was a pirate, the man had the charm of a gentleman, and if she was going to be honest with herself, the magic of his words had always worked on her.

As she crossed the floor, the glint of her ring caught her eye and Emma held her hand to the light, admiring the symbol of his love and trying to picture her finger with both this ring and her wedding band wrapping it in a tight embrace. Walking through the house by memory rather than sight, she suddenly slammed into something soft and dark, something that was really a someone she thought she'd gotten rid of.

“Gideon!”

The intruder smiled down at her with that look that said he had something up his sleeve. “Hello, Emma.” He didn't move, hadn't even flinched or let out a breath of surprise when she bumped into him. The man was more than a menace, he was just plain creepy.

“If you came for your invitation to the wedding tomorrow-”

Gideon held up a hand in a gesture to silence her. “My parents and I know we won't be welcome. It might hurt my mother a little, but she does understand. That isn't why I've come.”

Emma closed her eyes and sighed. “Look, I've got a pretty big day ahead of me, so if we can cut past the part where you're stalking me and get to why you-” Something powdery hit her face, but she wasn't able to see what it was because her body was too busy falling to the floor.

* * *

Leaves shook and danced on their branches in a strong breeze when Emma finally managed to open her eyes and came to the realization that she was standing in a park. The grass underfoot swayed and at a point almost too far away to see, a fountain glistened in the sunlight. Everything that she took in seemed completely normal, except for the fact that nothing was making a sound. 

“How the hell did I get here?” Her voice, even in its hushed tone, felt deafening against the eerie silence that surrounded her. Turning in a slow circle, Emma brought the entire area into view; benches, sidewalks, lamps, even the trash cans seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn't place any of it. She knew she wasn't in Storybrooke, but she had definitely been here before. Some part of this memory pulled tightly against her heart as it tried to surface, but she forced it away with another sudden realization. The sidewalks, the streets, the buildings across the road, all of them were empty. There was no life in this place at all.

“I brought you here,” answered Gideon from behind her and Emma spun to see him standing in front of one of the park benches as if he were a newly installed statue.

“So take me back. Now.” The force of her words matched the strength of her steps as she crossed the distance between them.

Sadly, he shook his head. “I can't do that right now.”

“Can't or won't?”

Gideon tilted his head in a manner similar to his father, giving one of those slick grins that said he'd been caught at his own game. “I need you here,” he finally announced. “I have been waiting to talk to you and I couldn't work out another way to do it. I've spent the last two nights going through every spell and magical item of my father's that I could find...”

“Our chat at the bar wasn't enough for you? How about that time we spent playing with your pet tarantula?” Emma crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him coldly. “Seems to me we've had plenty of time to talk.”

The man stretched out his arm and gestured to the bench beside them. “Things were... uncertain then, and time was short. Now we are in a place where we have as much time as is necessary to explain everything.” When Emma refused to move, he added a hopeful, “Please?”

Unwilling to give in just yet, the princess fed her curiosity by examining her surroundings more closely. The air felt thick and strange and realizing this, she finally noticed the tiny particles drifting through the breeze, giving away their location. “You brought me to your dream?” She tried to conceal the surprise in her voice, but failed miserably. “Weren't we _just_ here?”

“Your dream,” Gideon corrected her. “And I am sorry, but I didn't think that you would listen to me any other way.” With an exaggerated intake of breath, the man glanced around the park and across the streets at the empty shops, instantly changing the topic of conversation. “Is this what the world outside of town looks like? It's not very impressive.”

“You get used to it,” Emma huffed, finally giving in and sitting down on the bench, if only to get the man talking. She knew they weren't leaving until he played whatever game he'd pulled her in to, so she decided she might as well make herself comfortable while she was being dragged along. 

Gideon hovered over her for a while, still taking in the scenery. He seemed haunted and unsure of what to do next, with a look in his eyes that was both fierce and afraid. Everything about him called out an equal balance of the genetic code between his kindhearted mother and his conniving father... except for his height. Emma still hadn't figured out where the hell that had come from.

Finally the son of the Dark One joined her on the bench. “I am sorry, Emma. Truly. For everything.”

“I get it,” Emma said, looking out into the park, still trying to place it in her memory as she talked. “You've been through some strange stuff. But you know, you really could have just picked up the phone or something.”

Gideon's face froze into one of panic that made Emma chuckle. “What? Haven't your parents decided you're old enough to use their phones yet?”

The man next to her suddenly stared down at his hands, examining them with an intensity that was almost frightening, putting her in mind of the times she had focused so intently on her own hands as they trembled from her visions. “My parents have no idea that I'm here,” he finally confessed to her once the panic was gone, though there was a weight to the words that held more.

“Look, I didn't mean-”

“After everything I have done,” Gideon interrupted with a sharp tone, “would you honestly have been willing to listen to me if I had met you anywhere else?”

Emma blinked, somewhat taken aback by the question, but more shocked at her immediate, gut response to it: of course she would trust him! Instantly she puzzled over the feeling. He had sworn to kill her and consistently tormented her family, what made her feel she could believe him this time? Then again, through it all he had been manipulated by his grandmother. With the Black Fairy gone, her heart now a shriveled lump collecting dust on the shelf of Regina's vault, why couldn't she believe him? 

“Considering our history, I guess it's just going to take time to make any other kind of assumption,” she admitted at last, softening the words into a form of apology. “You've gotta admit though, sneaking into my home the night before my wedding and sandblasting me isn't the best way to prove your good intentions.”

Gideon allowed the tiniest of smiles and finally looked up from his hands, gazing out through the drifting particles and into the day of their shared dreams. “Where is this place?”

Confused by the change of topic, Emma was even more surprised to find herself answering the question. “I'm not sure... It looks familiar, but... I had been to a lot of places before I came to Storybrooke.” She studied the ground, the buildings, the trees, trying to force some kind of recognition out of the depths of her. It was there, just out of her grasp, then it was gone again.

Frustrated, Emma looked down at her feet, where a paper bag seemed to have miraculously appeared. “Jelly...”

“Pardon?” The corner of Gideon's mouth twitched into the slightest of smiles.

“This park,” Emma whispered. “It's where I waited with the doughnuts.”

Snatching up the bag, Emma bolted to her feet and jerked her head around in every direction, desperate to take in all of the park, suddenly wishing it were full of people so that she could find just one soul among them. Eventually she called out, unable to resist the urge any longer, “Neal?!”

Gideon all but leapt from the bench and reached out to catch her shoulder in a strong grip. “My brother? He was here?”

“Yeah,” the whisper mingled with the particles that drifted around them and fizzled out of existence. “This is one of the last places we saw each other before Henry found me...” _Where I told him I loved him,_ she thought sadly. “I haven't thought of this place in a long time.”

“Sometimes dreams take you where you need to be,” replied Gideon softly, releasing her and looking around with new wonder in his eyes.

Emma frowned at him, “You're telling me that I needed to be reminded about my dead boyfriend right before I get married?”

Pain swept over Gideon's face, his eyes closing to the words that seemed to squeeze his heart as certainly as his grandmother had to have done so many times in his life.

“Gideon...” Emma waited for him to look at her again before continuing. “I'm sorry. I didn't think-”

“Baelfire will always be my brother, whether I have met him or not.” Gideon said sadly, his eyes beginning to water as his emotions clearly overwhelmed him. “My father is always talking about him, telling me stories about their time together when he was a boy and then when he lived in Storybrooke. I know my brother was a hero, and that... gives me hope that I can come from all of this with a better life than I was given to start with.”

“I guess your dad has always been pretty focused on him, Maybe that's how Neal lives on. In all of those stories you get to hold a part of him.”

Gideon shook his head sadly. “They are more than just stories. My father still feels the guilt of abandoning him. I can see that reflected in everything he does, I can see it in his eyes when he talks about how happy he is to have me back.”

Emma opened her moth to speak, but Gideon turned away, practically throwing himself down onto the park bench in a manner that was most unlike the refined man she had gotten used to. Again she took her seat beside him, listening honestly and attentively. She had some experience with the guilt her parents had felt about abandoning her, but she couldn't imagine what Gideon was going through. Up until recently she had been an only child, but from the moment Gideon had been born he had been thrust into his older brother's place, one lost son to literally replace another, yet living just outside the reach of his father's loving arms.

“Everything my father has ever done was to protect someone in his family,” Gideon insisted. “He may have hurt us, but it was never his intention to cause any of us pain, it was only his determination to keep us from harm that kept getting in his way.”

Emma nodded. “I've wondered about that a lot since we found out he was a Savior before me, knowing what the Black Fairy did to him. Being cut off from your destiny is a tricky thing. It's probably why every time he tries to be good, he fails. He isn't like Aladdin, that dark magic influences everything. Believe me, I know.”

Emma shuddered thinking about the pull of the dark magic that she had experienced when she was the Dark One. Was it the fate of all saviors to be tempted by that addiction of power? Not for the first time she marveled at how strong Rumplestiltskin had been to resist as much has he had, especially around those he loved. “If he could just... break free of it somehow...”

“That,” said Gideon, smiling up at her sadly. “Takes the strength of a Savior.”

“Yeah,” admitted Emma in a whisper, knowing that was a role Gideon's father could never fill, a fate cut from him before he had barely begun to live. Could the Dark One still find that strength that had been denied him so many years ago? Emma actually found herself wishing that there could be a time for the man to have peace in his life, for love and joy to be a part of each of his days the way it could be for so many who were naturally capable of choosing their own fates.

“My father has more love in him than anyone gives him credit for.”

“I know.” Emma's answer was filled with the truth of memory. In her mind an image grew and she could see Neal sitting across from her while Rumplestiltskin talked to Belle on the phone. Gideon looked over at her in surprise and she smiled. “I've seen it. When your mother forgot who she was-”

Gideon nodded. “He called her. My brother told me, but I didn't know you were there too.”

Emma could almost feel her jaw hit her chest as it dropped open from the shock of Gideon's words. “He _told_ you?! How.” There was no question in her final word, only a strict demand for answers.

“That's why I brought you here,” Gideon confessed.

“So you're going to tell me that you're not only a bartender who's capable of magic, but now you're a psychic medium too?” Emma stood, shouting the words down at him, wishing they were rocks or fireballs or buzzing bees that would sting him as much as his words were stabbing into her right now.

Gideon rose slowly, his voice soft. “No, he left a message to be found by any of his younger siblings.”

Emma instantly felt deflated, her heart seeming to crumble at what she was hearing. She suddenly felt the same way she had when Neal had died, almost as if it had happened only yesterday. “Oh...”

“He used blood magic.”

A long silence hung in the air between them after those words. Emma struggled to let them sink in, her heart accepting them instantly, but her mind simply would not allow them to be absorbed as truth. “Your brother never used magic,” she huffed, unconvinced.

“Father thinks he did it when they were joined,” explained Gideon seriously. That feeling of truth pushed at Emma in a way that it hadn't in a long while, her superpower telling her Gideon was speaking in all honesty about what he knew.

“That was right before Neal died,” Emma whispered. Her eyes went everywhere, taking in every particle, every leaf and blade of grass. She half expected to see her son's father come out from behind one of the trees and flash her that winning smile the way he had done so many times before.

“Emma...” Gideon waited patiently for her to focus again before he continued, catching her eyes with his own. “In the message he left for me, he asked me to tell you that he loved you. I have been trying for days now to find a way, but with all that I have had to do, with everything all of us have been through...”

“You're right,” Emma sniffed, reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye. “I wouldn't have believed you.”

“Even my father hasn't been able to figure out how he got the message to your... phone,” Gideon said with hesitation, clearly stumbling over a still unfamiliar word. “But I have been wondering, if he managed to leave something for me, maybe he found a way to leave something for you.”

Shaking her head sadly, Emma took a deep breath to collect herself. “I would think that if he left something for me, I'd have seen it by now.”

The man beside her, turned to gaze into her eyes, his own filled with a sadness and pain that she felt she shared, if on a different scale. “I have what he used to make the message. I will give it to you if you want it.”

Emma shoved her hands into her pockets, guarding herself against a cold chill that she didn't feel. “Thanks,” she mumbled. “I'll... think about it.”

And with that, the dream was broken as suddenly as it had begun.

* * *

“Emma...”

Killian's voice was both music to her ears and unnerving, considering the conversation that had just taken place in her mind, but Emma couldn't help waking with a smile. “I'm all right.”

Henry's words were the next to reach her ears. “Mom? What happened?”

Opening her eyes, Emma at first found herself surrounded by the population of Storybrooke. It took a blink or two to come more to her senses and comprehend that the actual head count consisted of only her immediate family. She could see her parents and Regina standing off to one side while Killian and Henry hovered at the other, the group of them forming a halo of concerned faces that encircled her entire field of view.

“Guys, I'm fine.” She tried to sit up on her own, but several pairs of hands reached to do the job for her. As she pushed through the crowd of limbs and stumbled to her feet she heard her mother insist on getting a glass of water. “Seriously?!”

The room went quiet, all except for Snow, who scolded sharply. “Yes, 'seriously.' It's the night before your wedding, with a possibility of a curse literally looming over us, and your son finds you unconscious at the bottom of the stairs? I think we have every right to be concerned.”

Emma sighed and rubbed her head. “Sorry. I was just sleeping.”

“Not the best place for a nap, Love,” teased Killian.

“No, I mean... Gideon was here.” Voices started up all at once and she had to shout to be heard over them. “He just wanted to talk! He took me to the dream realm because he didn't think I'd listen to him anywhere else. He wasn't here when you found me?”

Henry shook his head. “I heard you fall and came downstairs. You were alone.”

Emma thought about how long it took for Gideon to appear in her dream and wondered if that length of time was equal to how long it would have taken him to whisk himself off to some other place before joining her. “He must have magiced himself out of here before putting himself to sleep.”

Regina frowned, clearly skeptical. “So what did he want, exactly?”

“He found something of mine and wants to return it. That's all.”

“And you believe him?” This question came from her father, the tone more protective than harsh.

“Yeah. I do.”

Her father looked at her for a long time, then nodded. “So you think he's telling the truth?”

“You mean could I feel it? Yeah.” The emotions of their talk overwhelmed her and Emma took a trembling breath. “Trust me, my superpower's not wrong about this one.”

“If you're meeting with him, we're going too,” insisted her mother.

“I don't really think that's necessary.”

Snow crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. “You may be getting married tomorrow, but I'm still your mother and I say-”

“Mom. Please...” Emma smiled warmly, still feeling exhausted from her forced slumber. “I'll take Killian, okay? I _really_ don't think the Golds want us storming their house right after Rumplestiltskin presented us with his own mother's heart, do you?”

Recognition of the situation slowly crossed Snow's face, which softened with sympathy. “No, of course not. You're right.” She gave one sharp nod and left the discussion at that.

Emma turned to her fiance. “How about it? One last date before we get married? I can drop you off on my way back.”

“Hardly a journey or a destination that will bring us heart pounding romance,” smiled Hook. 

“We could stop for tacos along the way,” Emma suggested, glancing mischievously at her parents. She and Henry had once returned from the store to make tacos, unknowingly interrupting an obviously intimate moment. 

“And we're leaving now!” Snow made the announcement quickly, her face flushing. “You two be careful and try and get some sleep later.” She gave her daughter a tight squeeze before making her move to the door.

“Real sleep,” insisted her father as he kissed Emma's forehead.

“I promise” said Emma, hugging him before he opened the door and escorted Snow out.

Regina hesitated to follow the others. “You'll be all right?”

“I'll be fine.”

“If you're sure...” Regina smiled at Emma, but there was a sadness behind her gaze that spoke of her lost love and her dream for a wedding like the one that would be held tomorrow. Emma wondered if the mayor was thinking of Daniel or Robin as her forced smile softened into genuine happiness. “Zelena and I will be here tomorrow morning.” After hugging Henry goodnight, she too was gone.

“I um... have some things that I have to do,” mumbled Henry to his mother, tilting his head toward the stairs.

Emma grinned, trying not to let on that she suspected what was going on between her son and her fiance. The whole thing was obvious, really, letting out a “best man” vibe that filled the room. “Really? Well, I guess you'd better get to it,” she said, kissing his head and nudging him playfully to the steps.

“Goodnight,” Henry called as he hurried up, two stairs at a time.

“Night,” she answered before turning to Killian. “I think we should walk,” she confessed to him. “I've got a story to tell you along the way.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Hook go to confront Gideon, but are surprised by what he has planned for the Savior.

The first thing Emma saw as she approached Gold's house was Gideon, sitting on the lowest step of the porch, his long frame hunched over a book. Light seemed to come from the pages themselves, giving the impression of a little kid, hidden under the covers, reading with a flashlight when it was well past his bedtime. Sitting in that way, the man looked harmless, yet she hesitated in crossing the street. Emma was about to walk up to someone who had sworn to kill her and she couldn't help thinking how crazy she was for even thinking about talking with him. In a dream it was one thing, but here, she wasn't so sure.

“You don't have to do this, love,” Killian reminded her, squeezing her hand in his as they stood together on the corner, gazing down the street at the seemingly typical home that contained a very untypical family within.

Emma shook her head slowly, lips tight in determination. “I promised I would give him a chance. I have to do this.”

“Why? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are about to casually stroll up to the spawn of the Dark One, and ask for a favor.” He turned Emma gently, resting his hand on her arm with the movement and holding her protectively as he spoke. “Can you honestly believe that this isn't a trap set by your sworn executioner?”

“I'm going to believe him because I owe this to Neal,” Emma insisted, suddenly realizing just how deeply she trusted her gut instinct, the part of her that told her when others were telling the truth. Her superpower was rarely wrong. “If he left me anything, even if it's a wad of used gum, I want to see it.”

Killian attempted to hold back a smile, his mouth growing tight with the effort, though his words maintained a blank evenness to them that screamed lack of enthusiasm. “Well, that's revolting.”

Emma smiled, unable to help herself. “It was the first thing I could think of,” she answered with a shrug.

“I promise,” said her fiance, kissing her head gently, “That when you outlive me, I will leave you something much more romantic, than used gum.”

Emma opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. “You _will_ outlive me. I plan on it.”

“And this conversation isn't morbid at all...” Emma teased sadly. It was a failed attempt at humor and she knew it, but she wasn't going to let their talk end on either of their deaths.

“Right. Enough of deciding who goes first,” Killian insisted, turning her to face the man they had come for. “Let's just walk to our doom together, then, shall we?”

Emma gave him a playful shove, but moved forward with him, desperately trying to calm her nerves as they crossed the street and walked down the block.

Gideon, having clearly become lost in his book, had yet to even glance in their direction and though they approached, his body never moved, his eyes never lifted from the pages. How could he be so much like his mother, but still have all the menace of his father? Talk about having a tortured soul... Emma wondered how he lived with both halves of himself at the same time.

As she and Killian approached the property, a shout came from inside. The cry from Belle drifted as easily through the building as if all of the windows had been open, though Emma could see that they were tightly shut.

“Is he just going to _sit_ there while his mother cries for help?” Emma growled and started walking faster up to the porch.

Killian quickly fell into step with her. “That's his father's side coming through, I'd wager,” he said as they rushed along the sidewalk. “And if he won't put an end to it, I will.”

Finally, either because he had heard Killian's threat or because he had come to a stop in his book, Gideon lifted his gaze to greet the approaching couple. Scrambling to stand and block their entry to the porch, he reached out a hand to stop them. “I don't think we should-”

“Step aside, beastling,” commanded the pirate.

“Fine,” responded Gideon grudgingly. “If you don't want to listen to me, go right ahead, but you'll regret it.”

Killian took the first step, but Emma caught his arm to stop him. “I'm sheriff. I can claim that I got a call about his disturbing the peace... or something.” She nodded toward Gideon. “Hold him here.”

Both men frowned at her, but it was her fiance that spoke, “I'm going to have to get one of those sheriff badges.”

“That can be arranged,” Emma answered quickly as she shot him a flirty smile and took the porch steps two at a time. Once at the top, she cautiously approached the door. 

Compared to the noise only a minute ago, the house now sounded deserted and that worried her. Rumplestiltskin was known for his tempers, as well as the physical and emotional destruction they caused. Her mind raced with theories on what she might find. As if to prove her right, there was a massive, shattering crash from inside, a noise that quite clearly meant an object had met its demise by being hurled across a room.

“Rumple!” Belle shouted, though the sound seemed slightly muffled. Something was off about her tone as well. Curious to solve this puzzle, Emma crept to a nearby window and peered in, a decision she regretted immediately.

From where she stood, she could clearly see through the small sitting area of the house, across the half wall divider, and into the kitchen. Glass covered the floor in front of the table and spread onward beyond the counter, out of her line of sight. Rumplestiltskin had his wife pinned in the corner and was smiling wickedly at her. “I'll mend it later,” he growled, pressing himself against her before the two shared an extremely passionate kiss. Belle was far from the victim, in fact, she was almost certainly the instigator, moving her body in a way that made Emma step back and turn quickly to the street.

“Wow,” she whispered to herself as she silently headed for the stairs where a confused Killian and a very smug Gideon were waiting for her.

“Well,” asked her fiance, “What happened to 'disturbing the peace'?”

Emma shook her head slowly. “They maybe disturbed a salad bowl... other than that... let's just say I'm probably not eating a meal at their place any time soon...”

Gideon chuckled. “You see? My love of books isn't the only reason I spend a lot of time reading in the clock tower.”

“Yeah. I get it,” answered Emma, rubbing her head as if that would erase the memory of what she had seen, grateful that the kitchen's half wall had blocked her view of anything below the belly button. “Can we maybe... go somewhere else?”

“Happily,” said Gideon, and before anyone could protest, he had moved his arm and transported them away in a puff of heavy smoke.

* * *

When Emma's vision cleared she found herself standing outside of her own home, having traded one front porch for another.

“I'm sorry,” Gideon said honestly. “I know my parents can be...”

“Intense?” Emma chuckled at herself and shook her head. “I guess I had no idea how much of Lacy was still part of your mom.”

“Mother fell in love with my father before any of you knew her. I always hear of her being compared to this 'Lacy', but everyone forgets that the Dark One is the man she fell in love with from the very beginning. She never knew him as anything else.”

Killian smiled. “He has you there, Love.”

“Guess so,” nodded Emma.

Suddenly Gideon's gloved hand reached out and danced in the air. At the same time two small items appeared on the porch railing; one an oddly shaped bottle of some mysterious liquid, the other more familiar.

“That's my old phone,” Emma murmured, reaching for it. “How did you get this?”

“I stumbled across it in my father's shop,” Gideon explained.

“How did _he_ get it?” Killian wanted to know.

Gideon shrugged. “How does he get anything? Sometimes I think things just appear on those shelves, drawn to his magic as if it were... one of those machines that lifts the broken carriages by the harbor.” 

“Electric magnets,” Emma offered, trying not to chuckle. “Yeah. I can see that.” She reached out and tenderly picked up the phone, caressing the edges and examining it as if it were a treasure she had thought long lost. “This is where you saw him?”

“It is.”

“It's dead,” noted Killian as he watched Emma attempt to bring life into the lifeless object.

“It activated when I touched it,” explained Gideon, reaching out as if to take the phone from Emma.

Suddenly, without thinking, she yanked her had away from his reach. “No.” She couldn't explain her hesitation, maybe it was the timing of the offer, but there was no way she was going to subject herself to the emotions of losing Neal just hours before she walked down the aisle with someone else. No matter how deeply she loved Killian, some scars could still cause pain. This was certain to be one of them.

She looked up at Gideon, trying to soften her tone and show the genuine gratitude that she felt inside. “Thanks and everything, but... I think... I think I just need time for this.”

Gideon gave one subtle nod. “Of course. I understand.” He took a few steps away, then turned to the couple and gave the slightest bow of farewell. “Captain, Emma... Goodnight... And congratulations.” He made certain to walk into the street before vanishing to wherever it was he went when he was trying to avoid his amorous parents.

Killian reached out and took the bottle from where it sat, studying it. “What do you suppose this was meant for?”

“Rum? Maybe he didn't want to show up without something for you?”

The pirate unstopped the bottle and took a sniff, a look of disgust taking over his face. “I know rum and that's not it.”

Emma caught a whiff before he sealed the opening again and decided it might not be rum, but it certainly didn't smell as bad as Killian had let on, though it did seem familiar. “I guess we ask the next time we see him.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gideon has been granted his second childhood before being able to complete his plans for Emma, so she turns to Rumple and Belle for help. What they find turns out to be a surprise for everyone.

Princess Emma hardly registered what was happening around her. There was music, there was singing, and she was exhausted. Her face felt tight and her eyes were filled with lack of sleep. Other than what Gideon had given her through his Mister Sandman routine, she had hardly slept at all before the wedding, and now, the night the final curse had been broken, everyone was at Granny's, finally able to celebrate their union.

Killian approached her with a fresh drink, offering it to her with only halfhearted intentions. “You sure you want another one, Love?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled softly, still in a daze, her eyes focused at a point across the room, where Belle and Rumple were fussing over a newly de-aged Gideon.

“You should go talk to them,” her new husband insisted gently, setting the glass down on the counter and reaching for her arm.

“What? Just barge on up there and say, 'Hey, while you were having some family fun in the kitchen, your son gave me something and now that he's a baby, I don't know what to do with it?'”

Killian chuckled. “Well, maybe a little more subtlety would be appreciated, but I'm sure they'd be willing to help set the story straight.”

Emma looked up into the man's eyes, blinking. “I never thought I'd hear you say something kind about Gold.”

“Trust me,” he insisted, “I'm still getting used to it myself.” He smiled and nudged her in the direction of the couple in question.

Rumplestiltskin and Belle had taken a place at the edge of the makeshift dance floor, not exactly dancing, but holding each other, with their son tucked lovingly between them as they swayed to the music and rocked him into a peaceful daze. Emma hovered at a distance, not wanting to disturb this moment of obvious bliss between them.

Belle noticed her first and smiled, releasing one arm from around her family and reaching out to clasp Emma's hand in a tight squeeze of joy. “We are so happy for you both, Emma,” she insisted as she drew the other woman to her side. “Truly, we are.”

Emma smiled clumsily, focusing on baby Gideon rather than on either of his parents, thinking it would probably be a while before she could look either of them in the eye. “Thanks...” She watched Rumplestiltskin tenderly play with Gideon's tiny fingers and saw the light shine in his eyes when the baby boy grasped tightly and refused to let go. Her heart ached for the man, not with pain, but with the joys that come with seeing someone get their happy ending. She hated to break the moment with her questions.

“Is there something wrong, Mrs... Jones?” Rumplestiltskin smiled, genuinely teasing her in this moment of celebration. Emma thought she would have a hard time hearing her call him Emma after that first time with the spider, but 'Mrs. Jones' over his usual 'Ms. Swan'... That would take an extra effort to get used to. Some things were simply meant to be said by Rumplestiltskin.

“Before... everything happened,” Emma sighed. “Killian and I met with Gideon... He... He gave me the phone he found in your shop...”

Belle's expression changed ever so slightly and she tangled her arm into her husband's squeezing it gently and gazing into his eyes with some unspoken suggestion.

“Maybe we should talk somewhere more private,” suggested the newest Savior. Emma nodded and glanced in Killian's direction.

“Bring him too,” Belle nodded and exited the diner, holding the door for everyone else to follow.

Outside the night was still and solemn, compared to the noise of the celebration indoors. The muffled music drifted through the cool night air, carrying the hopes and dreams of a bright future to everyone within a blocks' distance. At this hour the streets were deserted, and they easily found privacy among the outdoor tables that they would not have found in the diner itself. 

Rumplestiltskin barely waited for the door to close behind them before he asked, “Did he show you the message?”

Emma shook her head. “I wasn't ready at the time. To be honest... I don't know if I'm ready now, I just... I don't really know what to do. And... He gave me something else, but never told me what it was. A bottle of something.”

“We had every intention of asking him about it later, but that situation has... changed,” added Killian. Perhaps you might know something about it?”

The Dark One frowned. Emma could almost see the gears turning in his head as he ran through... whatever it was that went through his mind in situations like these. Inventory, probably. Finally, the man asked, “Do you have it with you?”

Emma held up her hand, concentrated, and commanded the bottle to appear on a patio table nearby.

Rumplestitlskin raised his eyebrows, either because he was impressed over Emma's magic or because he recognized the bottle in question. He handed his son over to Belle, then nodded at Emma. “May I?”

“Go ahead.”

Gently he picked up the bottle and studied it, turning the object in his hands with tenderness. Emma couldn't be certain if the extra care was out of caution or due to the fact that this bottle might be full of the last magic Gideon had concocted before his recent change.

“I don't believe it.” Rumplestiltskin unplugged the bottle and studied the liquid inside of it carefully before replacing the cork tightly where it belonged. “This,” he explained, “is Ale of Seonaidh.”

“The stuff you gave me in the underworld... to find Killian?” Emma's eyes went wide.

“But we didn't have any,” insisted Belle. “I remember looking for it before we went on our honeymoon.”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “We didn't. Not here.” He handed the bottle over to Emma with a smile. “That is newly made. I don't know how he managed it, but it explains all of the time he spent hovering at the basement window and skulking around the corners of my shop.”

“Why didn't he just ask you to help him?” Emma wanted to know.

“If I know our son,” answered Belle, “He wanted this to be _his_ gift, not ours. If he asked for help, it wouldn't have been as meaningful.”

“Or he had intentions to use it himself,” added her husband. “There is enough here for two or three...” As Rumplestiltskin spoke his voice softened into a barely audible whisper of realization.

Belle seemed to read his mind. “Maybe he'd wanted to give some to all of us.” Turning her head down to look into her son's eyes, she smiled and tickled his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered to him.

Gideon gurgled and wriggled happily.

There was an uncomfortable silence after that, which Killian eventually broke. Gazing thoughtfully at the baby, he said, “He couldn't give you the message from Baelfire, so he is letting Baelfire deliver it personally.”

“It seems so,” said Rumplestiltskin, “But to do that, we are going to have to leave this party and visit the cemetery.”

Emma nodded and reached out to take Killian's hand.

“Love...” Killian looked worriedly at his bride. “You don't have to do this.”

Tears filled Emma's eyes as she shook her head. “Yes,” she answered with determination and sincerity, “I do.” 

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “If we are all in agreement...” With the flick of his wrist the small group had been swiftly relocated to his son's graveside.

The change in ambiance was harsh as the music and celebration abruptly ended, replaced with the silence that surrounded the rows of headstones. Emma could feel her legs go weak and she twined her arm with Killian's to give her strength and reassurance.

The Dark One took a slow, deep breath, his eyes never leaving the grave immediately before them, and offered the bottle to Emma. “It was our son's gift to you, Emma. You should do the honors. If you would prefer we leave-”

“No.” Emma gently took the bottle and shook her head. “I think you should stay.” For a brief moment the man looked into her eyes and the love and kindness that filled them felt more powerful than any of the terrible spells and curses he had cast since she had known him. He only nodded his thanks, and took one silent step back, to stand with his family.

Emma pulled the stopper from the bottle and took a deep breath. “Well... Here goes...” With a gentle shake, she flicked some of the liquid out of the bottle and onto the grave. Unable to bear the disappointment that would come if the spell didn't work, she closed her eyes and thought longingly of Neal.

There were soft murmurs from the Golds, and Killian's hand tightened his grip on hers, but it was Neal's voice that made her finally open her eyes.

“Hey. I guess my kid brother found you.”

“Neal...” Emma blinked, feeling tears moisten her cheeks. “It's really you...”

“Yeah, it's me... Haven't we done this before?”

Emma tried to chuckle, but managed only a sad smile. “I uh... brought company this time.” She turned Killian.

“Baelfire,” the pirate nodded a greeting, swallowing hard as he did. “It's good to see you again.”

“You too.” Neal gave a winning smile. “I'm happy for both of you. I know if anyone is going to look out for her, it's going to be you.”

“Well, she doesn't always make it easy, but I certainly try.”

Neal's eyes sparkled with silent laughter, “Emma? Make something easy?” He took a deep breath and held out his hand.

Killian glanced down at it for a moment, then haltingly reached out to it, as if he were afraid his own hand would pass through. When the two met he pulled Neal close, into an almost fatherly embrace. “I'll watch out for her. You have my word.”

Neal nodded, stepped back and smiled at Emma again, though she could tell his attention was elsewhere. “Your brother-”

“I know.” Neal's eyes glanced at his father as he spoke. “I get to see things where I am.”

Rumplestiltskin began a step forward, then froze in place, clearly forcing himself to remain where he was. His eyes were crinkled with the force of the sheer willpower it took to not interfere in her moment.

Emma smiled and moved closer to Hook's side, nodding her permission for the Dark One to take her place.

“Baelfire,” the man whispered, stumbling the rest of his half step forward.

Neal immediately crossed the distance between them and grasped his father in a tight embrace. “Papa,” he whispered. The two stood together in this way until it seemed they would never part, Rumlestiltskin's eyes filling with tears and his son's face practically glowing with pride. “I hear you're a savior now.”

“He always was one,” Belle insisted. “He just didn't know it yet.” She smiled as she moved closer. Arms full of Gideon, she could only lean her head into the space where Neal's and Rumplestiltskin's met. “Baelfire... How are you?”

Neal's arms shifted to pull his stepmother into the family huddle. “I'm fine. I'm happy.” Finally he pulled away, but only enough to look down at the child in Belle's arms. “How's my brother?”

“Gideon,” she answered softly, then paused as if trying to come up with what to say next. “Young.” Though she smiled at Neal, there was a sadness behind her expression that conveyed the confusion they were all feeling about his reversed aging.

“Ah, but he'll grow.” Neal gently played with his brother's fingers. “And he'll be the traveler and the hero he always wanted to be. He has all the time in the world for that now.”

“I hope so,” Belle said, pressing her head to Neal's one last time.

“Bae... I...” Rumplestiltskin's eyes flicked from his son to the gravestone that marked his final resting place. 

“I'm proud of you, Papa,” Neal responded, as if answering a question.

The Dark One shook his head, Emma could almost physically feel the pressure of all of the words that clearly wanted to come flowing out of his mouth, but couldn't because of the sheer number of them trying to get through.

“You have a happy beginning now.” Neal squeezed one of his father's hands in both of his own as he spoke. “It was always said that a Dark One could use their magic for good. You've done that. More often than you realize. Enjoy every minute of this, Papa. You _deserve_ it.”

“Take care of yourself, son,” said Rumplestiltskin, as if he were merely sending Neal away to college or off to some new job in another town.

He nodded. “And you take care of that family. Keep some of that ale for me and give it to Gideon when he's older.” Neal's eyes shone with happiness as he looked at his baby brother again. “It was important to him that we get to talk together. I want him to have that.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded, tears still falling down his cheeks. He swallowed back an, “I will,” before almost stumbling into his wife's side. Belle instinctively reached out an arm to steady him, pulling him close and rested her head on his shoulder. The picture was of pure family bliss.

Neal turned back to Emma and held out his hands for her to take. “I think you have a party to get back to.”

Emma nodded. “Yeah...” She glanced at Killian with a loving smile.

“May I?” Neal's eyes twinkled with mischief as he looked at Hook.

“One time,” answered the pirate, trying to sound menacing, but failing miserably. 

Neal gave Emma a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Happy wedding day,” he said softly.

“This is the one gift,” Emma sniffed, “that will always mean the most.” She clung to Neal's hands as if they were a lifeline. She kept telling herself that if she never let go, she would never lose him again. Then, like slamming into a brick wall, a thought occurred to her. “Henry.” She felt like an idiot for not considering their son before. “He should have-”

Neal shook his head. “He's found his own path. It'll be a good one, I think. This meeting was always meant to be for you. But if you tell him I was here, let him know I'm proud of him for everything he has done.”

Emma nodded, reaching up a shaking hand to wipe away her tears. “I'll tell him.”

Neal smiled and took a step back, towards the stone and the darkness beyond. He pointed a finger at each couple in turn. “Be good to each other, now. Like it or not this wedding _really_ makes you family.”

Killian shot a confused look from one person to the next. “How do you figure that?”

With a final, playful chuckle Neal concluded, “My son's mother just married my foster father.” Then he was gone, his smile seeming to linger like the grin of the Cheshire Cat.

It took a moment for the truth of those words to sink in, but once they did, Emma shook her head with astonishment. “This is one messed up family.” She looked up at her husband and kissed him. “But I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Beside her, Killian's body trembled with the slightest hint of sadness as he pulled Emma close, wrapping her in his arms and breathing softly into her hair. “Neither would I, Love. Neither would I.”

“We should maybe get back,” Belle said after another few minutes. “They'll be wondering what happened.”

Silent nods of agreement spread from one person to the next and without ceremony, Rumplestiltskin transported them back to the patio at Granny's.

For the longest of moments, no one said a word as the town around them continued celebrating happy endings and new beginnings. Emma was too emotional to speak and allowed herself to sob silently into her husband's arms. She didn't care who saw her, or who judged her for crying at her own wedding, but she couldn't hold back the tears of gratitude she felt for this moment. Somehow Neal had found a way to make it to her wedding, to be part of her happy ending.

When she was finally able to lift her gaze, she could see Belle and Rumplestiltskin sharing a moment of their own, eyes moist with emotion, faces shadowed by sadness, but also lit with joy. “Thank you,” she whispered to them.

Belle reached out to squeeze her hand and held on for a long time before excusing herself. “I guess we should let you get back... and I think it's time to put this little man to bed for the night.”

“Yes,” added her husband, “He's had quite the eventful evening.” The words held a joviality and double meaning that they all felt too sharply just then.

“As have we all,” answered Killian with a tender smile.

Emma took a deep breath and glanced down at the Ale of Seonaidh still in her hand. Carefully she held it out to the Golds. “Keep it,” she said sadly. “It's Gideon's now.”

“If you're sure,” said the Dark One softly. When Emma nodded, he tenderly he took it from her and held it against his chest. Rumplestiltskin turned to leave, then stopped himself and turned back. “But, if you need it again, you know where to find it. No deals required. Simply ask and it's yours.”

Emma smiled softly. “Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, she turned to her husband. “Guess we should get back to the party.”

“Aye,” he smiled at her. “That we should.” 

With a strangely comforting and newly familiar nod of friendly farewell at the Golds, the two headed back inside.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Rumple return home to enjoy their new beginning.

By the time they arrived home, Belle's feet felt as if she had walked for miles on a gravel road, even though Rumple had whisked them away as soon as they had reached a polite distance from the celebrating couple. While Rumple changed Gideon, she threw herself onto the bed and kicked off her shoes with a moan of contentment. _I am never complaining about Rumple's 'sensible shoes' comments again,_ she thought to herself as she turned her head to gaze into the dark fireplace.

A book on the nightstand caught her eye, and she propped herself up to reach for it. “The Magicians, huh?” Belle smiled in the direction of the front room, where Rumple was fussing over their son, muttering her teases into the night air. “Rumplestiltskin, what are you trying to study now?”

“Oh,” he answered happily, and quite unexpectedly, startling her into nearly dropping the book, “that's not mine. It's Gideon's. He left it on the porch the night before the wedding. I found it when I went to meet my mother.”

Belle nodded, looking at the book from a different perspective now that she knew it was something her son had once chosen to read. She opened to a random page and was startled by what she found. “'From this angle the armchair might have blocked Quentin's view, but it didn't quite as Eliot fumbled jinglingly with Eric's belt buckle, then his fly, then jerked down his pants, exposing his thin, pale thighs.'”

The shock in her voice must have been plain, because Rumple chuckled as he crossed the room to her. “He _was_ old enough to read that at the time, you know. And when he grows up, he can certainly be interested in anyone he likes... as long as he is happy.”

“Of course, I just... Is it so wrong of me to think of my baby boy reading something like that?”

“And here I was thinking, 'Like mother like son,'” he teased, gazing down at baby Gideon's tiny features.

Belle tried to give Rumple a little shove from where she was propped up in the bed, but her reach fell just short and she only managed a playful swat of his leg.

“Here,” he said in a reassuring tone as he sat on the edge of the bed beside her, “let's see how far along he was...”

Twirling his fingers, Rumplestiltskin used magic to encourage the book to turn its own pages. They flipped slowly at first, then quickly, and eventually came to a stop at the last part of the book to have been opened before Belle had peeked inside. 

One sentence glowed softly, “The last thing he read,” Rumplestiltskin murmered as he nodded at the text. Bending forward ever so slightly, mindful of the child in his arms, he read it aloud. “'This was the place. He would be picked up, cleaned off, and made to feel safe and happy and whole again here.'”

The two of them sat quietly, soaking in the words and realizing just how important the story might have been to Gideon. Belle spoke first, trying to hide her sadness with a small smile, “I can take it back to the library in the morning...”

With Gideon still cradled gently in one arm, Rumple casually tossed a small spark to the fireplace and the logs he had readied for the evening. A crackling flame soon filled the room with a fire's soft glow. “No,” he said. “We're going to keep it. He was reading it before his aging was reversed and we will let him finish it.”

“Do you think he'll even remember it?” Belle's question was genuine. Neither of them had experienced this sort of thing before and both were still a little unsure of their situation. Just as they had gotten used to having an adult son to talk to, now they were changing that same son's diapers and rushing to gather all of the baby supplies they thought they would never use.

“Doesn't matter. It's what he wanted and I intend to let him have everything he wants,” insisted her husband, emphatically.

Belle smiled softly at him. “Within reason, I hope.”

She watched Rumple play with Gideon's small fingers, as he slowly paced the room. At the side of the bed, a bassinet stood ready for the baby, but it was clear that his father wasn't quite ready to let him go. Belle could hardly blame him.

“Both of you deserve everything I can give you,” He answered at last, looking up to smile lovingly at Belle.

Gideon crinkled his face and began a soft cry, which stopped as soon as Rumple began walking again. “You want one of my stories first, hm?” He gently bobbed Gideon in his arms, rocking him with such expert tenderness, anyone would have thought child care had been his lifelong occupation. “How about the tale of how your new bedtime tradition came to be?”

“This should be interesting,” teased Belle playfully, “since I didn't know we had one.” She settled back on the bed, propped up by her pillows, and listened to the story unfold.

“You'll see,” Rumplestiltskin said, shooting her a playfully devilish grin before turning his attention to Gideon.

“Once upon a time,” he said in his storytelling voice, “in a land far from this one, your mother lived in a large castle, surrounded by beautiful mountains. A horrible beast with sharp claws and scaly skin had taken her from her home and made her work there with no one for company. He needed someone who was smart and knew many languages, but deep down, he was also very lonely and wanted someone to talk to.”

Belle opened her mouth to protest, but Rumple stopped pacing and reached out to playfully wiggle one finger in front of her nose. “Ah, ah, ah. No interrupting.” He tapped her gently with the tip of his finger before he resumed his laps of the room with Gideon.

“Everyone who had encountered the monster of the castle said that he was a creature with no heart, incapable of love or kindness, but your mother felt differently. She saw something in her captor that no one else could see; a sadness that was so deep that it had frozen his heart, turning him cruel. She spoke to him in a way that no one else had in a long time, as if he were a man, whole, and capable of love. Because of your mother's faith in him, over time, his heart began to change.

“The beast knew what others thought of him and paced his chambers every night, wondering how he could repay your mother for this kindness without frightening her into silence. Finally, he decided to give her a wonderful treasure that he was certain would brighten her days just as she had brightened his. With magic he created a wondrous library, filled with as many adventures as your mother could read in her lifetime and he presented this gift to her under the condition that she continue to work for him and read only when her work was done.

“From that moment on, every evening, when your mother had finished every one of her chores, she would come down to the room where the beast spent most of his time. There, by the fireplace, she would read for hours, until she grew tired and ready for bed. One of those nights, she laughed while she read and the monster asked her what she was reading. Your mother recited the words on the page and he listened as her voice carried those words to fill the room. He became lost in the most beautiful sound he had ever heard and his mind began to paint pictures of the two of them spending time in the garden. He envisioned your mother's head in his lap, his fingers playing with her hair, all while her voice brought to life the stories of places far away.

“The vision scared him. True love was the one thing that he could never allow himself to have, because to have true love meant that he would lose his power, a power that he needed to find his beloved son. In hatred of himself, he pounded a fist onto the table and went into a rage, shouting at your mother and sending her to bed, demanding that she never read aloud from her books again. Confused and scared, your mother ran to her room in the dungeon, leaving the monster to cry out in the pain of a heart broken anew, tearing at his sleeves and throwing whatever came within reach, all so that he could keep himself from feeling the love that he knew he had for her.”

Belle frowned playfully. “You told me you ripped that sleeve on a nail,” she interrupted quietly.

“Well...” Rumplestiltskin wiggled his fingers at her again, putting on his playful tone that she so loved from their days at the castle. “It wasn't a lie.”

She gave him a quirky smile at the pun, but let him continue his story, wanting to know how he would choose to end it.

“From that day onward,” continued Rumple, attention turned back to Gideon's face, “the beast that held your mother held himself in fear of what she could do to him. Knowing she had the power to take his magic from him, he desperately searched for a way to drive her from his side, but found that no matter what he did, his heart longed to keep her. He knew he had fallen deeply in love and could feel his heart warming to her with every minute that passed.

“With a broken heart, he realized that he could not keep her. In a choice between the love for his son and the love for your mother, he cast her out into the night...”

Belle reached out to catch her husband, drawing him to sit beside her on the bed. She sat up and rested her head onto his shoulder, gazing down at Gideon's closed eyes and contented face. “But,” she said in a voice well used to reading stories, “She came back. And after a long time struggling with who she was, she discovered just how deeply she loved the beast, more deeply than she ever could have dreamed. That shared love changed the monster into her kindhearted husband-”

“And your beautiful mother and her tamed beast finally lived happily ever after,” concluded Rumple.

“Well,” chuckled Belle. “I don't know that I would have said it exactly that way...” She kissed Rumple gently on the cheek. “It did put him to sleep, though.” Carefully she lifted Gideon from Rumple's arms and set him tenderly in the bassinet that stood at her side of the bed, near the window. “This really is our happy ending,” she whispered softly. “Isn't it?”

Rumple smiled warmly at her, taking her hand with as much tender love as he had ever expressed, and then some. “I believe it is, yes. Though...” He thought for a moment, gazing out the window, into the night sky. “I prefer to think of it as a new beginning.”

Belle reached across the bed and picked up the book. “I think,” she said, studying the cover, “I'd rather think of it as a new chapter, the next part of a long, lovely tale about a happy family in a small town.”

She opened Gideon's book to the very first page and settled herself on the bed so that her head was in Rumple's lap. As his fingers idly played with her hair, she renewed a tradition that had begun long before they were a family, one she knew would continue well into their future.

“'Quentin did a magic trick. Nobody noticed...'”


End file.
